High School Teacher Who Said Gay People 'Deserve To Die' Resigns

By

Carlos Santoscoy

|
May 13, 2017

A California high school teacher who
said that gay people “deserve to die” has resigned.

San Luis Obispo High School (SLO High)
special education teacher Michael Slack made the comments in response
to publication of a student newspaper issue dedicated to LGBT issues.
The cover of Expressions featured two girls kissing.

In a letter to the editor, Slack called
homosexuality a sin and quoted Romans 1:16-32 (NLT), which reads in
part: “They know God's justice requires that those who do these
things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway.” Slack wished that
“those who have stumbled” return to “the right path.”

San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi Harmon was
among those who criticized Slack. About 40 people attended a protest
outside SLO High on Thursday. Ryan Pinkerton, assistant
superintendent for the school district, said that an anonymous person
on Thursday morning called in a death threat against Slack.

In his resignation email, Slack
defended his actions, saying that he knew of numerous students who
expressed “shock and disgust” at the paper's coverage. He said
that he had encouraged these students to write letters to the editor.

“I guess my question is, 'Why is San
Luis Obispo High School promoting ANY sexual orientation to our minor
children? That shows a complete disregard for parental rights,”
Slack
wrote.

Slack also took issue with coverage of
the incident in the media, saying that they had failed to accurately
represent his views.

“Yes, there is such a thing as media
bias, slander and defamation of character,” he wrote.